Using routing symbols to describe a driving maneuver

ABSTRACT

Driving directions are presented where a maneuver in the driving directions includes a road symbol and an action symbol. A road symbol identifies the road involved in the particular maneuver, and an action symbol identifies an action to be performed to execute the particular maneuver. In one example, a road symbol, an action symbol and narrative text may be presented in displayed or printed driving directions. In another example, a road symbol and an action symbol may be used to describe a maneuver presented by an on-board or mobile navigation system when the vehicle in which the navigation system is present approaches the point at which the maneuver is to be taken. The road symbol and the action symbol may be presented with, or without, narrative driving directions.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of and claims priority toU.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/278,077, filed on Mar. 30, 2006, andtitled USING ROUTING SYMBOLS TO DESCRIBE A DRIVING MANEUVER, whichclaims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/668,996, filedApr. 7, 2005, now expired, and titled DUAL ROUTING SYMBOLS FOR A ROUTEMANEUVER, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. Thisapplication is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No.10/620,378, filed Jul. 17, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,076,363, issuedJul. 11, 2006, and titled USING ROUTE NARRATIVE SYMBOLS, which isincorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This description relates to presenting driving directions for a travelroute between an origin location and a destination location.

BACKGROUND

A travel route between an origin location and a destination location maybe determined by a computer system, which may be referred to as amapping system. A user of a mapping system may desire to see drivingdirections, such as a list of maneuvers in the travel route and anarrative description of each maneuver to be made. The drivingdirections may be difficult to comprehend, particularly while attemptingto follow the driving directions and drive a vehicle at the same time.For example, it may be difficult to discern the next maneuver which mustbe taken while driving to a particular location, particularly where themaneuvers are not displayed in a clear and understandable fashion. Anoverview of the driving directions, such as the interstates and highwaysincluded in the travel route, also may be difficult to comprehend basedon the narrative description of each maneuver when many maneuvers areincluded in a travel route. This may occur, for example, when a travelroute covers many hundreds of miles and involves traveling on manydifferent interstates and highways.

SUMMARY

In one general aspect, displaying driving directions includes accessingdata that describes at least one maneuver to be executed to traverse aroute from an origin to a destination and selecting a portion of theaccessed data that describes a particular maneuver. A road symbol to beassociated with the particular maneuver is determined, where the roadsymbol identifies the road involved in the particular maneuver. Anaction symbol to be associated with the particular maneuver isdetermined, where the action symbol identifying an action to beperformed to execute the particular maneuver. Both the road symbol andthe action symbol are presented to describe the particular maneuver.

Implementations may include one or more of the following features. Forexample, text may be presented, in addition to the road symbol and theaction symbol, to describe the particular maneuver. In someimplementations or for some maneuvers, only the road symbol and theaction symbol may be presented to describe the particular maneuver. Boththe road symbol and the action symbol may be presented while travel isoccurring.

A navigation system capable of determining geographic location may beused to present the road symbol and the action symbol to describe theparticular maneuver, or a communication device capable of transmittingand receiving voice communications may be used is used to present theroad symbol and the action symbol to describe the particular maneuver.

The action symbol may indicate, for example, a turn direction, a turnangle, a merge or an exit involved in the particular maneuver. The roadsymbol may have substantially the same appearance as a road sign used tomark the road represented by the road symbol, may include a road numberthat identifies the road represented by the road symbol, or may includeor be an interstate road symbol that has substantially the sameappearance as an interstate sign used to mark the interstate representedby the interstate road symbol. The road symbol and the action symbol maybe presented in positions that are adjacent to one another.

Implementations of any of the techniques described may include a methodor process, an apparatus or system, or computer software on acomputer-accessible medium. The details of one or more implementationsare set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below.Other features and advantages will be apparent from the description anddrawings, and from the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A-1F are diagrams illustrating the display of symbols thatdescribe a maneuver.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the display of driving directions froman origin location to a destination location.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the display of an upcoming maneuver inan on-board navigation system.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a communications system capable ofdisplaying route narrative symbols for driving directions of a travelroute.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a process for displaying drivingdirections in which each maneuver is displayed with an associated roadsymbol and an associated action symbol.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are diagrams depicting example data structures used todisplay a road symbol and an action symbol for a maneuver in drivingdirections from an origin location to a destination location.

Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

To help improve comprehensibility of driving directions, particularlywhen directions must be comprehended based merely on a quick glance, tworouting symbols are provided for a maneuver included for drivingdirections provided by a mapping or navigation system. For example, tworouting symbols and narrative text may be included for a maneuver indisplayed or printed driving directions. In another example, two routingsymbols may be used to describe a maneuver presented by an on-board ormobile navigation system when the vehicle in which the navigation systemis present approaches the point at which the maneuver is to be taken.The multiple routing symbols may be presented with, or without,narrative driving directions. Examples of narrative driving directionsinclude oral narrative instructions, displayed or printed narrativeinstructions, or a combination of oral, displayed and/or printedinstructions. In one example of routing symbols, two routing symbols maybe used to describe a merge onto an Interstate highway. The two routingsymbols may be, for example, an Interstate routing shield identifyingthe Interstate number (and, perhaps, direction of travel) and an exitrouting shield indicating an exit number. In another example, a turnonto a state road may be described using a turn routing symbolindicating the turn direction and a green or blue rectangle symboldepicting the name of the road (and reminiscent of a street sign). Itmay be useful to describe a maneuver using one routing symbol relatingto a maneuver type or action to be taken (e.g., a turn type, a merge, oran exit) and a second routing symbol identifying the road (e.g., I-64East and I-95 North) involved in the maneuver, where the first andsecond routing symbols are distinct symbols.

More particularly, driving directions may be represented by an orderedlist of one or more maneuvers to be followed to travel from an originlocation to a destination location. A road symbol and an action symbolare presented to describe a maneuver included in driving directions fora route to a destination. A road symbol for a particular drivingmaneuver may be used to represent the road to which the maneuverrelates. For example, one type of road symbol that may be used torepresent a road may be an interstate road symbol that has substantiallythe same appearance (e.g., substantially the same or similar shape,and/or substantially the same coloration) as an interstate route signused to mark the interstate itself. Another example of a type of a roadsymbol that represents a road is a highway route symbol that hassubstantially the same appearance as a highway route sign used to mark astate highway. Yet another example of a type of a road symbol thatrepresents a road is a state road symbol that looks substantiallysimilar in appearance to a state road sign used to identify a stateroad.

An action symbol for a particular driving maneuver may be used torepresent the action described by the maneuver, which also may bereferred to as a maneuver type. Examples of an action described by amaneuver may include make a left turn, make a right turn, take an exit,merge, take a right fork, and continue straight, among others. An actionsymbol may represent a direction to turn, a merge to perform, an exit totake from a highway or interstate, or an indication to continue straight(such as to continue straight through an intersection of roads). Anaction symbol may be used to represent more particular actions, such asto make a sharp left turn, to make a sharp right turn, to make a slightleft turn, to make a slight right turn, to merge left, or to mergeright.

The display of a road symbol and an action symbol for a maneuver mayprovide a visual reference that is easier to comprehend than acorresponding narrative-only presentation of the driving directions. Adriver may find it useful to be able to quickly comprehend the nextmaneuver while en route to a destination with only a quick glance at thedriving directions. For example, an action symbol representing a rightturn and a road symbol representing a particular state road may be usedto communicate a maneuver to turn right onto the state road identifiedby the road symbol. Placing the road symbol and the action symboladjacent to one another may be helpful for a user to comprehend theupcoming maneuver. Additionally, narrative text describing the maneuvermay be presented.

The display of a road symbol and an action symbol to represent amaneuver may be particularly useful in the context of an on-boardnavigation system, a mobile navigation system, or when printeddirections are used while driving. Generally, in such a context, adriver or other type of user has a limited amount of time to look atdriving directions to understand an upcoming maneuver. The presentationof a road symbol and an action symbol to describe a maneuver may allowthe driver to discern a maneuver to be taken in time to execute themaneuver. Presentation of a road symbol that has substantially the sameappearance as the road sign used to mark the road (e.g., a road symbolrepresenting an Interstate that bears a substantial similarity in shapeand coloring to an Interstate route sign used to mark the interstate)may help to increase comprehension. In the same manner, the appearanceof the action symbol that is substantially the same in appearance as aroad sign with the same or similar meaning may help increasecomprehension of the maneuver.

FIGS. 1A-1F illustrate displaying a road symbol and an action symbol todescribe a maneuver to help a viewer comprehend the maneuver to beperformed. FIG. 1A shows an example 100A of an action symbol 105Aindicating a turn direction (i.e., a left turn), a road symbol 110Aindicating a state road (i.e., South 7), and narrative text 120Adescribing the maneuver (i.e., Turn LEFT onto MD-7 S/Philadelphia RD).The road symbol 110A indicates the direction of travel on the road(i.e., South) and the route number (i.e., 7).

FIG. 1B shows an example 100B of an action symbol 105B indicating a turndirection (i.e., a right turn) and a road symbol 110B identifying astate road (i.e., North 543) involved in the maneuver to which the tworoute symbols 105B and 110B correspond. In contrast with the example100A of FIG. 1A, the example 100B of FIG. 1B does not include narrativetext for the driving maneuver. Displaying an action symbol and a roadsymbol without narrative text may be used, for example, when displayspace is limited, as in a mobile navigation system or an on-boardnavigation system.

FIG. 1C shows another example 100C of an action symbol 105C indicating amerge (i.e., left merge), a road symbol 110C identifying the interstate(i.e., I-95 South) on which to merge, and narrative text 120C (i.e.,Merge onto I-95 S via the ramp on the LEFT (Portions toll)) to describea driving maneuver.

FIG. 1D shows an example 100D in which the action symbol 105C and theroad symbol 110C (which are also both included in example 100C of FIG.1C) are displayed without narrative text for the driving maneuver thatcorresponds to the action symbol 105C and the road symbol 110C.

FIG. 1E shows yet another example 100E of an action symbol 105Eindicating an exit to be taken (i.e., exit 84A) and a road symbol 110Eidentifying the interstate reached by the exit indicated in actionsymbol 105E (i.e., I-295 South), and narrative text 120E (Merge ontoI-295 S via EXIT 84A on the LEFT toward ROCKY MY N.C.) to describe adriving maneuver. It is important to note that a route symbol mayinclude other route symbols. For example, action symbol 105E includes aroute symbol 107E identifying the number of the exit (i.e., 84A) and aroute symbol 108E indicating that a left exit is to be taken.

FIG. 1F shows an example 100F in which the action symbol 105E and theroad symbol 110E are displayed for the same maneuver as illustrated inexample 100E of FIG. 1E. In contrast with the example 100E of FIG. 1E,the example 100F does not include narrative text to describe themaneuver.

FIG. 2 shows driving directions 200 from an origin location to adestination location. The driving directions 200 include maneuvers200A-200I. A maneuver includes an action symbol 205 adjacent to a roadsymbol 210 to describe the maneuver. A maneuver also includes a sequenceindicator 215 that indicates the order in which a maneuver is to beexecuted relative to the other maneuvers. For example, maneuver 200Aincludes a sequence indicator 215A of “1,” and maneuver 200B includes asequence indicator 215B of “2.” The sequence indicators 215A and 215Bindicate the order in which the maneuvers 200A and 200B are to beperformed—that is, the maneuver 200A is to be executed first, themaneuver 200B is to be executed second and after maneuver 200A, and soon.

A maneuver also includes narrative text 220 that describes the maneuverto be performed. For example, maneuver 200B includes narrative text 220B(i.e., Turn LEFT onto MD-7 S/Philadelphia Rd.), and maneuver 200Cincludes narrative text 220C (i.e., Turn RIGHT onto CRESWELL RD/MD-543N.).

Each of the maneuvers 200A-200I includes an action symbol 205 on the farleft side of the maneuver, such as 205B (i.e., a left turn symbol), 205C(i.e., a right turn symbol), and 205E (i.e., an exit right symbol). Inaddition, most of the maneuvers 200A-200I include a road symbol 210 tothe immediate right of the action symbol. Examples of road symbols 210include 210C (i.e., a state highway symbol) and 210D (i.e., aninterstate highway symbol). The maneuvers 200A-200I also include number225 of miles to be traveled before the next maneuver is to be performed.

The symbols 205 and 210 may provide a quick reference to a personglancing at the driving directions 200 to help the person more easilydiscern the maneuvers or a particular maneuver to be performed. Forexample, considering maneuver 200C, the action symbol 205C representinga sharp right turn, in conjunction with the road symbol 210Crepresenting state road North 543, may enable a viewer to understandthat the maneuver 200C is to turn right onto North 543.

FIG. 3 shows an example 300 presenting an action symbol 305 and a roadsymbol 310 in a heads-up display 330 in a vehicle 350. Moreparticularly, a vehicle 350 includes an on-board navigation system 340capable of producing a heads-up display 330, for example, by projectinga holographic image of the action symbol 305 and the road symbol 310.The display 330 presents the action symbol 305 and the road symbol 310,which together describe the next maneuver to be performed to traverse atravel route. In particular, the action symbol 305 and the road symbol310 indicate that the driver of the vehicle 350 is to take Exit 57A (asindicated by action symbol 305) to merge onto South I-95 (as indicatedby road symbol 310). The direction of the arrow 307 on the action symbol305 indicates that the exit is located on the right side of the roadbeing traveled.

FIG. 4 shows a communications system 400 capable of presenting a roadsymbol and an action symbol to describe a driving maneuver. Moreparticularly, the communications system 400 is capable of delivering andexchanging messages between a client system 410 and a mapping system 420through a delivery network 430 to present routing symbols for one ormore driving maneuvers.

Each of the client system 410 and the mapping system 420 may be ageneral purpose computer (e.g., a personal computer, a desktop computer,or a laptop computer) capable of responding to and executinginstructions in a defined manner. Other examples of the client system410 and the mapping system 420 include a special purpose computer suchas an on-board navigation system, a mobile navigation system, aworkstation, a server, a device, a component, or other physical orvirtual equipment or some combination thereof capable of responding toand executing instructions. The client system 410 also may be a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a communications device, such as a mobiletelephone or a portable electronic mail (e-mail) system, or acombination of a PDA and communications device.

The client system 410 includes a communication application 415 and isconfigured to use the communication application 415 to establish asession with the mapping system 420 over the delivery network 430. Thecommunication application 415 may be, for example, a browser or anothertype of communication application that is capable of accessing themapping system 420. The client system 410 is configured to send to themapping system 420 requests for driving directions for a routeidentified by an origin location and a destination location. The clientsystem 410 also is configured to receive driving directions from themapping system 420 and to present the received driving directions to auser, where the driving directions include at least one maneuver that isdescribed using an action symbol and a road symbol.

The delivery network 430 provides a direct or indirect communicationlink between the client system 410 and the mapping system 420,irrespective of physical separation. Examples of a delivery network 430include the Internet, the World Wide Web, WANs, LANs, analog or digitalwired and wireless telephone networks (e.g., PSTN (“Public SwitchedTelephone Network”), ISDN (“Integrated Services Digital Network”), andDSL (“Digital Subscriber Line”) including various forms of DSL such asSDSL (“Single-line Digital Subscriber Line”), ADSL (“Asymmetric DigitalSubscriber Loop”), HDSL (“High bit-rate Digital Subscriber Line”), andVDSL (“Very high bit-rate Digital Subscriber Line”)), radio, television,cable, satellite, power lines and/or any other delivery mechanism forcarrying data.

The delivery network 430 includes communication pathways 435 that enablethe client system 410 and the mapping system 420 to communicate with thedelivery network 430. Each of the communication pathways 435 mayinclude, for example, a wired, wireless, virtual, cable, or satellitecommunications pathway.

The mapping system 420 may be a host system, such as an Internet serviceprovider that provides a mapping service to subscribers. In anotherexample, the mapping system 420 may be a system that hosts a web sitethat provides mapping services to the general public.

In general, the mapping system 420 is configured to provide drivingdirections for a route between an origin location and a destinationlocation identified by a user, where the driving directions are providedas a series of one or more maneuvers and at least one maneuver isassociated with an action symbol and a road symbol to describe themaneuver. The mapping system 420 may be a host system, such as anInternet service provider that provides a mapping service tosubscribers. In another example, the mapping system 420 may be a systemthat hosts a web site that provides mapping services to the generalpublic.

The mapping system 420 includes a communications application 422 that isconfigured to enable the mapping system 420 to communication with theclient system 410 through the delivery network 430.

The mapping system 420 includes code segments 423 configured todetermine maneuvers for a route to a destination. To do so, for example,the mapping system may receive a destination and an origin from theclient system 410 over the delivery network 430 and determine a routebetween the origin and the destination. The mapping system may determinethe route, for example, using route determination techniques toprogressively search a network graph beginning from an origin until thedestination is reached. In one example, the mapping system may use theDijkstra or A* method to determine a desirable route based on thedistance and/or time required to travel between the origin and thedestination. The mapping system determines driving maneuvers to beperformed for the determined route.

The mapping system 420 also includes code segments 424 that areconfigured to determine a road symbol for a maneuver, and code segments425 that are configured to determine an action symbol for a maneuver, asdescribed more fully later. Generally, the code segments 423, 424 and425 are executed when the mapping system 420 is processing a request fordriving directions from the client system 410.

The mapping system 420 also includes code segments 426 that areconfigured to present a road symbol and an action symbol to providedriving directions for a maneuver of a route.

In some implementations, the functions described as being performed bythe mapping system 420 and the client system 410 may be included in asingle device, such as an on-board navigation system, a mobilenavigation system, a PDA, or communications device. For example, themapping system 420 may be implemented as an on-board navigation systemthat is located in a vehicle and configured to provide drivingdirections based on the vehicle's current location. Additionally, anon-board navigation system also may be capable of communication withanother system, such as, for example, with a host system to receiveupdated navigation data for use in determining a route or real-timerouting information (such as information about traffic congestion).

FIG. 5 shows a process 500 for displaying driving directions in which aroad symbol and an action symbol are associated with a maneuver. Theprocess 500 may be performed, for example, by a processor of a mappingsystem, such as mapping system 420 of FIG. 4, or a processor of anon-board or mobile navigation system. FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate exampledata structures and data values that may be used with process 500 todisplay a road symbol and an action symbol for a driving maneuver.

The process 500 begins when the processor accesses maneuver informationfor a route (step 510). To do so, the processor may access a table, alist or another type of data structure that associates a list ofmaneuvers with a route identifier that identifies the particular travelroute for which the driving directions are displayed.

FIG. 6 shows one example of a data structure for a list of maneuvers fora particular travel route. In general, each maneuver in the list ofmaneuvers is represented by a maneuver identifier, and the travel routeis represented by a route identifier (“ID”). Maneuver information foreach maneuver in the list of maneuvers is identified by a maneuveridentifier. Maneuver information is associated with a particular routethrough the list of maneuvers for the particular route.

The route information 600 may be stored in a relational database systemthat logically organizes data into a database table. The database tablearranges data associated with an entity (here, a travel route) in aseries of columns 612 and 614 and rows 622 and 624. Each column 612 or614 describes an attribute of the travel route for which data is beingstored. Each row 622 or 624 represents a collection of attribute valuesfor a particular travel route. The attribute 612 represents anidentifier for the travel route represented by the row 622 or 624. Theattribute 614 is a list of maneuver identifiers for maneuver informationfor a maneuver included in the route.

FIG. 7 shows one example of maneuver information 700 for a maneuver in atravel route. The maneuver information 700 may be stored in a relationaldatabase system that logically organizes data into a database table. Thedatabase table arranges data associated with a maneuver in a series ofcolumns 710-717 and rows 720-728. Each column 710-717 represents anattribute of a maneuver, and each row 720-728 represents a collection ofattribute values for a particular maneuver. The attributes are used todisplay driving directions, such as the maneuvers 200A-200I of thedisplayed driving directions 200 of FIG. 2.

The attribute 710 includes a maneuver ID to uniquely identify a maneuverin the attribute 710 of the maneuver information 700. The maneuver IDcorresponds to a maneuver ID in the list of maneuver identifiers inattribute 614 for a particular route identified by the route ID 612 inthe route information 610.

The maneuver information in data structure 700 also includes a road type711, a road number 712, a road name 713, an orientation 714, a turnangle 715, an exit number 716, and narrative text 717. The road type 711includes an indication of the type of road involved in the maneuver,which often is the road to which a maneuver is made. Examples ofindicators of the type of road include whether the road is a state road,a state highway, or an interstate. The road number 712 identifies theparticular road number of the road involved in the maneuver. Together,the road type and road number identify a particular road involved in themaneuver. For example, the particular road I-264 is identified using aroad type 711A of “INTERSTATE” and a road number 712A of “264.” The roadname 713 is an optional attribute that identifies a name for a road. Theorientation 714 identifies the orientation, such as a travel direction(e.g., North, West, South, and East), involved in the maneuver. Aparticular orientation 714A for a maneuver used with the road type androad number of the maneuver indicates the travel direction of the road(e.g., I-264 EAST). The road type 711, the road number 712 and,optionally, the orientation 714 may be used by the processor to generatea road route symbol for the maneuver in driving directions for a travelroute that includes the maneuver.

The turn angle 715 includes an indication of the degree of angleinvolved in a turn of the maneuver. The turn angle 715, for example, maybe one of a sharp left, a sharp right, a slight left, a slight right, amerge direction, or an exit direction. The turn angle 715 may be used bythe processor to generate an action symbol that identifies a turndirection for a maneuver in driving directions for a travel route thatincludes the maneuver.

The exit number 716 indicates an exit number associated with an exitidentified in the maneuver. The exit number is an optional attribute.Some implementations may determine the exit number for a maneuver fromnarrative text 717.

The narrative text 717 includes the textual description for the maneuverthat may be displayed in the driving directions for a travel route thatincludes the maneuver. Some maneuvers in the maneuver information 700include only narrative text and not values for each of the road type711, the road number 712, the orientation 714 and the turn angle 715.

Referring again to FIG. 5, the processor then selects a maneuver in thetravel route (step 520). For example, the processor may access the firstmaneuver in the list of maneuvers 614 of FIG. 6.

The processor determines a road symbol to describe the maneuver (step530). For example, a road symbol may be associated with a maneuver in amaneuver data structure, such as the maneuver data structure 700 of FIG.7. Alternatively or additionally, the processor may access road symbolinformation stored in a table, a list, or another type of datastructure. In one example, road symbol information may be stored in adatabase table that associates a road symbol with a road type 711—aninterstate road symbol may be associated with road type having a valueof interstate, a highway road symbol may be associated with road typehaving a value of highway, a state road symbol may be associated withroad type having a value of state, and a local road symbol may beassociated with road type having a value of local. In someimplementations, a table or other type of data structure may beunnecessary, such as where the road symbol is identified by the samename as the road type (e.g., interstate, highway, state or local).

The processor determines an action symbol to describe the maneuver (step540). For example, an action symbol may be associated with a maneuver ina maneuver data structure, such as the maneuver data structure 700 ofFIG. 7. Alternatively or additionally, the processor may access actionsymbol information stored in a table, a list, or another type of datastructure. For example, a turn angle may be associated with an actionsymbol type to identify an action symbol to be used for a particularturn angle. The processor may identify an action symbol type based onthe turn angle associated with the maneuver. In some cases, theprocessor determines information to be included in the action symbol,such as the exit number or an identification of the side of the road onwhich an exit occurs. To do so, the processor may use information in themaneuver information, such as exit number 716 or information obtainedfrom the narrative text 717.

The processor associates the determined road symbol and the determinedaction symbol with the maneuver for presentation (step 550), andpresents the determined road symbol and determined action symbol todescribe the maneuver (step 560). For example, to do so, the processormay display the road symbol, the action symbol, and, optionally,narrative text for the maneuver in a list of driving directions for aroute. The processor also may display the road symbol and the actionsymbol at an appropriate time in a navigation system, such as when theuser of the navigation symbol should be informed of the maneuver.

The processor determines whether there are more maneuvers with whichsymbols need to be associated (step 570), and, if so, the processorproceeds by selecting another maneuver (step 520). If the processordetermines that there are no more maneuvers with which symbols need tobe associated, the process 500 ends.

Although FIGS. 1A-7 illustrate systems, methods and techniques fordisplaying routing symbols for directions in the United States, someimplementations may apply the techniques for displaying drivingdirections to directions for travel outside of the United States.

The techniques also may be applicable, for example, to one or morecomputing devices for displaying driving directions that communicate ina client system and host system (e.g., an Internet access provider or anInternet service provider) relationship, a single computing device(e.g., with or without networking capabilities), a communication devicethat includes telephonic capabilities, an embedded system (e.g., anavigation routing system in an automobile or other vehicle), or amobile navigation system.

It will be understood that various modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the claims. For example, usefulresults still could be achieved if steps of the disclosed techniqueswere performed in a different order and/or if components in thedisclosed systems were combined in a different manner and/or replaced orsupplemented by other components. Accordingly, other implementations arewithin the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:obtaining information associated with a maneuver included within a routefrom an origin to a destination, the maneuver information including aroad type and a turn angle associated with the maneuver; determining,using a processor, a road symbol for the maneuver based on at least theroad type and an action symbol for the maneuver based on at least theturn angle; and generating an instruction to present the road symbol andthe action symbol to a user, the presented road and action symbolsdescribing the maneuver to the user.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereinthe action symbol indicates at least one of a turn direction involved inthe maneuver, a merge operation associated with the maneuver, or anidentifier of an exit associated with the maneuver.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the road symbol includes a road number that identifiesthe road represented by the road symbol.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein the road symbol comprises an interstate road symbol, theinterstate road symbol corresponding to an interstate sign used to markthe interstate represented by the interstate road symbol.
 5. The methodof claim 1, further comprising generating an instruction to present theroad symbol in a position adjacent to the action symbol.
 6. The methodof claim 1, wherein the determining comprises: accessing a mappingsymbol database comprising information identifying a plurality of roadsymbols and action symbols; obtaining the road symbol from the mappingsymbol database using at least the road type; and obtaining the actionsymbol from the mapping symbol database using at least the turn angle.7. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining comprises determiningthe road symbol based on the road type and at least one of a roadnumber, a road name, or a road direction associated with the maneuver.8. An apparatus, comprising: a storage device; and at least oneprocessor coupled to the storage device, wherein the storage devicestores a program for controlling the at least one processor, and whereinthe at least one processor, being operative with the program, isconfigured to: obtain information associated with a maneuver includedwithin a route from an origin to a destination, the maneuver informationcomprising a road type and a turn angle associated with the maneuver;generate a road symbol for the maneuver based on at least the road typeand an action symbol for the maneuver based on at least the turn angle;and generate an instruction to present the road symbol and the actionsymbol to a user, the presented road symbol and action symbol describingthe maneuver to the user.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8, furthercomprising a communication component capable of transmitting andreceiving voice communications, the communication component beingconfigured to receive the instruction and present the road symbol andthe action symbol to the user.
 10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein theaction symbol indicates at least one of a turn direction involved in themaneuver, a merge operation associated with the maneuver, or anidentifier of an exit associated with the maneuver.
 11. The apparatus ofclaim 8, wherein the road symbol includes a road number that identifiesthe road represented by the road symbol.
 12. The apparatus of claim 8,wherein the road symbol comprises an interstate road symbol, theinterstate road symbol corresponding to an interstate sign used to markthe interstate represented by the interstate road symbol.
 13. Theapparatus of claim 8, wherein the at least one processor is furtherconfigured to generate an instruction to present the road symbol in aposition adjacent to the action symbol.
 14. The apparatus of claim 8,wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: access amapping symbol database including information identifying a plurality ofroad symbols and action symbols; obtain the road symbol from the mappingsymbol database using at least the road type; and obtain the actionsymbol from the mapping symbol database using at least the turn angle.15. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the at least one processor isfurther configured to determine the road symbol based on the road typeand at least one of a road number, a road name, or a road directionassociated with the maneuver.
 16. A tangible, non-transitorycomputer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by atleast one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform amethod, comprising: obtaining information associated with a maneuverincluded within a route from an origin to a destination, the maneuverinformation including a road type and a turn angle associated with themaneuver; determining a road symbol for the maneuver based on at leastthe road type and an action symbol for the maneuver based on at leastthe turn angle; and generating an instruction to present the road symboland the action symbol to a user, the presented road symbol and actionsymbol describing the maneuver to the user.
 17. The computer-readablemedium of claim 16, wherein the method further comprises generating aninstruction to present the road symbol in a position adjacent to theaction symbol.
 18. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein thedetermining further comprises: accessing a mapping symbol databaseincluding information identifying a plurality of road symbols and actionsymbols; obtaining the road symbol from the mapping symbol databaseusing at least the road type; and obtaining the action symbol from themapping symbol database using at least the turn angle.